The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has asked the Illinois Attorney General's Office to "pursue enforcement" against the railroad company that operated the six rail cars dropped into the Spoon River following a bridge collapse on Sept. 16 in Seville.

The AG's office received the IEPA's request this week, according to a spokesperson, and it's currently under review by the office's environmental attorneys. In addition to citing Keokuk Junction Railway for several violations of Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations and the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, the IEPA would like the AG's office to "compel" the company to provide data regarding the cars, derailment and apparent bridge failure.

The IEPA would also like Keokuk Junction to remove contaminated soil from Spoon River Banks, continue using pumps to aerate the river water and submit an emergency response plan, according to a release.

The agency estimates that more than 20,000 gallons of corn syrup spilled into the water after a trestle bridge collapsed and six cars carrying the food additive plunged into the river. Following the derailment, both the IEPA and Illinois Department of Natural Resources found leaks in the partially-submerged cars, and concerns arose that the syrup would degrade and deplete the water of its oxygen, potentially killing aquatic wildlife.

On Sept. 21, the IDNR responded to a fish kill in Bernadotte, as an apparent low oxygen level caused about 400 fish, mostly Asian Carp, to wash up dead on the Spoon River banks and dam in Bernadotte. The area is 10.5 river miles downstream from the site of the collapse.

Keokuk Junction, of Keokuk, Iowa, and its parent company Pioneer Railcorp, employed subcontractors to pull the cars from the river and clear it of the spilled material, according to the IEPA.

An IEPA spokesman said though additional citations may be added as the investigation continues, the initial violations include "unauthorized discharge" of the syrup into the river and onto its banks, meaning the railroad companies did not have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPSES) permit on file.

The collapse is still under investigation, and the IEPA will continue water sampling to determine any potential long-term impacts to the river.

A call made to J. Michael Carr, president and CEO of Pioneer Railcorp, was not immediately returned Friday.